1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the field of telephony generally, and to a method and device for blocking outgoing caller ID information specifically.
2. Background Art
Cellular communication systems are multi-user, wireless communication systems capable of concurrent use by large numbers of users. These systems may be packet wireless communication systems providing voice and other real time communications between mobile terminals operable in such a system. Advancements in communication technologies have permitted the development and popularization of new types of mobile devices for use with cellular communication systems.
With the advancing sophistication of mobile devices and standard telephony services in general, there is an ever-increasing array of services available which may be provided on mobile devices, including cellphones, PDAs and the like. One such service is a caller ID service for voice devices, where a mobile or other phone (which may be a standard phone coupled to a landline) is identified to the phone of the recipient of the call. For communication devices so enabled, the incoming call number can be displayed before the call is picked up by the recipient, allowing a user of such a system to screen unwanted incoming calls. Furthermore, current mobile phones commonly feature onboard telephone directories which are automatically accessed when a call is received to attempt to match a name with the incoming number when displaying caller ID information.
However, in some situations, a caller may not wish her information displayed in such a manner on the phone of the recipient of the call. Accordingly, caller ID blocking methods are known which allow a caller to prevent her caller ID information from being sent to the call's recipient. However, these methods are tedious and unwieldy in that they either result in all caller ID information being blocked during the period in which they operate, or an action must be taken by a caller before each call to enable blocking of the outgoing caller ID information.
What is needed is a more sophisticated system of blocking outgoing caller ID information that takes full advantage of current telephone device technologies to selectively block outgoing caller ID information for calls to certain numbers only.